• Read Jeffrey Cohen’s essay “Monster Culture” (Seven Theses)” available as a PDF from the course schedule.
  • Identity a contemporary monster (or contemporary version of a monster) and describe it.
  • Use the most relevant of Cohen’s theses to explain what makes this monster a 21st-century monster, or an American monster, etc. How does your chosen monster embody this cultural moment?

An example of a contemporary monster is the Point Pleasant native known as the Mothman. The Mothman was first ‘seen’ in West Virginia in 1966 and had a supposed reign of terror until 1967. Witnesses claim that the creature is about seven feet tall and was able to closely pursue their vehicle while going about one-hundred miles per hour. As the name suggests, this creature looks like a hybrid between a man and a moth with large red eyes. Its body resembles a human frame, however, according to witnesses, the creature is completely covered in thin, black hairs. Mothman also has two antennae-like structures on the top of its head and two wide (ironically) bat-like wings. Many Mothman enthusiasts believe that sightings of the creature predate horrific tragedies. Notable events such as 9/11, the Chernobyl disaster, and a Minnesota bridge collapse have been linked to Mothman sightings. Witnesses of the creature described that its eyes gave the impression of ‘pure evil’ and some witnesses were even reported to suffer from extreme fear and distress that lasted for months to years.

Many of Cohen’s theses can be used to explain what makes Mothman a 21st century monster. The first of which is thesis three: The Monster is the Harbinger of Category Crisis. Cohen writes that, “They are disturbing hybrids whose externally incoherent bodies resist attempts to include them in any systematic structuration,” (Cohen, 6), which I believe fits the description of the Mothman incredibly. As stated above, Mothman has many different characteristics such as a humanoid body, bat wings, big, and glowing moth eyes, which, as Cohen writes, makes it very difficult to categorize it. Many have categorized the creature as typically male, yet there are no definite accounts that describe the creature’s gender. I believe that this is very important in our cultural moment today, considering that many in the LGBTQ+ community are fighting for trans and gender-nonconforming rights. When Cohen says, “the monstrous offers an escape from its hermetic path, an invitation to explore new spirals, new and interconnected methods of perceiving the world,” (Cohen, 7), I can see the Mothman as a physical manifestation of that sentiment. By not conforming with one form or another, by not specifically showing male or female identifying traits, Mothman allows people to step away from the heteronormative path.

The next thesis that was used to explain Mothman’s role in the 21st century was thesis number five: The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible. Cohen writes, “The monster stands as a warning against exploration of its uncertain demesnes…curiosity is more often punished than rewarded,” (Cohen, 12), essentially explaining that monsters are used to safeguard certain areas or even ideas that others do not want explored. There is a theory that Mothman acts as a guard to a site of environmental disaster in the forests of Point Pleasant, so much so that the famed ‘Men in Black’ were threatening witnesses of the creature to stay silent. In our cultural moment, environmental activism is a contested topic, especially in America. Some may use the Mothman as a safeguard to protect sites of environmental degradation in order to avoid activists from bringing attention to it. Cohen sums up this sentiment on page 13 by describing sea serpents on medieval maps, “It is possible, for example, that medieval merchants intentionally disseminated maps depicting sea serpents like Leviathan at the edges of their trade routes in order to discourage further exploration and to establish monopolies,” (Cohen, 13).

The last thesis that describes Mothman’s influence on the cultural moment is Thesis number six: Fear of the Monster is Really a Kind of Desire. In Point Pleasant, there are statues dedicated to the Mothman. The world’s only Mothman museum is located just beside that same statue. Merchandise, stuffed animals, shirts, and DVD’s are all testaments to Mothman’s grip on society in Point Pleasant. Why is that the case? It is obvious, in Cohen’s words, that it “cannot be assimilated,” (Cohen, 19), so how come there are teams and enthusiasts that actively search for the creature? It may be a natural desire to become like Mothman. Cohen describes the phenomenon by saying, “they [monsters] are also realms of happy fantasy, horizons of liberation. Their monsters serve as secondary bodies through which the possibilities of other genders, other sexual practices, and other social customs can be explored,” (Cohen, 18). In the case of Mothman, many may wish to have the freedom, the anonymity of the Mothman. As described earlier, Mothman could serve as an example of gender non-conformity. This, in turn, could cause many people to envy that freedom and to have an innate desire to live in a nonconforming way that Mothman does. Especially in a tense cultural moment that we are currently in, many may want an escape from terse political debates and fights for rights, which is a niche that Mothman may fill for them.